Nurse Attack by Stephen Scantlebury: Criminal Case and HCA Lawsuit

Stephen Scantlebury’s nurse attack refers to the February 18, 2025 beating of 67-year-old nurse Leelamma Lal at HCA Florida Palms West Hospital in Palm Beach County, an assault so severe it broke nearly every bone in her face and left her with a traumatic brain injury. Scantlebury, a 33-year-old dual U.S.–Canadian citizen who had been placed under Florida’s Baker Act hours earlier, was charged with attempted second-degree murder with a hate crime enhancement after telling investigators “Indians are bad.” He was found competent to stand trial in August 2025 and remains held without bond. On the one-year anniversary of the attack, Lal sued the hospital, its parent HCA Healthcare, and security contractor Allied Universal, alleging negligence made the assault foreseeable.

What Happened at Palms West Hospital

Scantlebury had driven himself to Palms West the day before the attack complaining of chest pain. After evaluation, a psychiatrist placed him under Florida’s Baker Act, which authorizes involuntary psychiatric holds of up to 72 hours. He was moved to Room 336 on the third floor, and a sitter was assigned to supervise him.¹

According to arrest records, Scantlebury leaped from his hospital bed and beat Lal nearly to death before fleeing the facility.² During the assault he used scissors to stab her, and she was beaten until unconscious.³

A court affidavit describes statements Scantlebury made that established a racial motive. He said “Indians are bad” and “I just beat the [expletive] out of an Indian doctor,” referring to Lal, who is of Indian origin.⁴ Prosecutors added the hate crime enhancement by February 20, 2025.⁵

The Warning Signs the Day Before

Several people saw troubling behavior from Scantlebury in the days leading up to the attack. His wife, Megan Scantlebury, later testified that his paranoia began the Sunday before. He believed the house was bugged, that people were listening to him, and that his wife and neighbors were part of a conspiracy to “set him up.”⁶

On February 17, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s deputies spent about an hour with Scantlebury outside a Dunkin’ Donuts in Wellington after a 911 call from an employee who reported he was “acting paranoid and confused.” His mother arrived and told deputies “something’s not right with his train of thought,” asking that he be involuntarily committed under the Baker Act. Deputies said he appeared “calm” and “clearly coherent” and told the family they lacked legal authority to force him into treatment. As one deputy put it: “We can’t take everybody to the hospital because we think he needs help. We have to know they need help.”⁷ When asked if he would like to see a mental health professional, Scantlebury laughed and said no.⁸ Deputies left and arranged for a mental health provider to follow up by phone the next day.

The following morning, Scantlebury drove himself to Palms West with chest pain. Staff described him as agitated, and his wife later testified that staff told the family he “jumped off the CT scan machine and ran down the hallway” before the psychiatrist placed him on the Baker Act.¹

Scantlebury’s Prior Assault Conviction

Megan Scantlebury testified at her husband’s detention hearing that he had never displayed mental health issues or aggressive behavior. Court records showed otherwise. In 2017, Scantlebury punched the grandfather of his young son in the face and attempted to slam a car trunk on the man’s head during a custody exchange in Charlottetown, Canada. He was convicted in 2018 and sentenced to 30 days in jail.¹ Prosecutors cited his Canadian citizenship as a flight risk factor during bond proceedings.

Where the Criminal Case Stands

At his late February 2025 detention hearing, Judge Howard Coates rejected a defense request for bond in the range of $100,000 to $125,000 and release to a mental health treatment facility. The judge called Scantlebury “a significant threat to the community” and compared him to “dynamite,” saying he could “explode again.” He was ordered held without bond in the Palm Beach County Jail.⁶

The case was reassigned to Circuit Court Judge Caroline Shepherd. On April 14, 2025, she denied a defense motion for a mental competency evaluation while allowing the defense to refile.⁹ Scantlebury was later evaluated and found competent, and the defense requested a second routine evaluation.¹⁰ On August 19, 2025, after both court-appointed doctors agreed, a judge ruled him competent to stand trial.¹¹

Defense attorney Scott Simmons drew a distinction between the two concepts: “The two court-appointed doctors have found him competent to proceed, which is a very low threshold… Competency is as we sit here today, insanity is at the time of the offense.”¹² The defense has filed notice of intent to pursue an insanity defense, which would be argued to a jury at trial, and Simmons said he would seek a court-ordered transfer to a mental health facility while the case is pending.¹³ No trial date has been set. Scantlebury remains in custody at the Palm Beach County Jail.

Leelamma Lal’s Injuries

Lal, a nurse of 21 years, was airlifted to St. Mary’s Medical Center, where surgeons rebuilt her face with titanium plates.¹⁴ She was initially unable to breathe on her own, and her family feared she might lose her sight.¹⁵ After months in intensive care she moved to Brooks Rehabilitation Center in Jacksonville, where a neuropsychologist diagnosed traumatic brain injury with cognitive impairment. She returned home to Royal Palm Beach in August 2025 after nearly six months away.¹⁶

A year on, Lal still has double vision, balance problems, and memory loss from the brain injury. She cannot drive, cook independently, or tend her garden, and her adult children help her with errands and church. Doctors told her that her face “will never look the same,” and further surgeries are expected.²

The Civil Lawsuit Against HCA and Allied Universal

On February 18, 2026, one year to the day after the attack, attorney Karen Terry of Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart and Shipley filed a civil lawsuit on Lal’s behalf against HCA Florida Palms West Hospital, parent HCA Healthcare, and Allied Universal Security Services (formally named as Universal Protection Services). The suit alleges negligence and seeks a jury trial with damages exceeding $50,000.¹⁴

The complaint alleges a pattern of security failures that made the attack foreseeable:

The hospital had no bag checks, door checks, or metal detectors. Security personnel were unarmed, lacked training for physical intervention, and were stationed only in the lobby and emergency room, with no presence on upper patient floors.
The contract between HCA and Allied Universal failed to provide sufficient security hours, armed guards, or necessary safety measures. Terry called it “a recipe for disaster.”
Scantlebury was medically stable and should have been transferred to a designated Baker Act receiving facility rather than kept at Palms West, which is not designated.
The hospital did not tell Lal that the patient she was treating had been placed on an involuntary psychiatric hold.
Palms West had a documented history of violence, including a July 2023 incident in which a patient stormed the neonatal intensive care unit, removed a newborn from a ventilator, and stabbed three nurses, and an April 2024 incident in which a patient assaulted a nurse, a pharmacist, and a security guard.¹⁷

Terry said the attack was “virtually certain to happen” and “just a matter of time,” accusing the hospital of prioritizing “heads on beds and their patient census” over staff safety. She said hundreds of HCA healthcare professionals had contacted her firm since the incident to report similar concerns at other facilities.¹⁴

HCA Healthcare said it had not been formally served as of the filing. A spokesperson said “two separate healthcare regulatory agencies reviewed our processes and both concluded there were no deficiencies in HCA Florida Palms West Hospital protocols” and that the hospital had made security enhancements after the attack.²

Why a Baker Act Patient Was at a Non-Designated Facility

Palms West is not a designated Baker Act receiving facility under Florida law.¹⁸ Florida’s Baker Act requires involuntary examinations to occur at facilities specifically designated by the state Department of Children and Families. An HCA spokesperson said Scantlebury was initially admitted for a non-mental-health medical issue and that the hospital was required to treat that condition before any transfer to a receiving facility could occur.¹⁹

Dr. Daniel Bober, Chief of Psychiatry at Memorial Regional Healthcare System, said it is common for families to bring loved ones to hospitals that are not designated Baker Act facilities, leaving staff to handle aggressive patients without the specific training or resources.¹⁸ While designated Baker Act facilities require hands-on psychiatric training for staff, emergency room workers at Palms West generally received broader online modules covering general patient care.²⁰

Security Changes Since the Attack

Palms West contracted a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s deputy to be on site 40 hours per week starting April 1, 2025, and created a dedicated workspace for law enforcement in the emergency room.²⁰ Hospital administrators and sheriff’s command staff scheduled meetings to discuss assigning deputies during peak hours. Terry argued the measures were still insufficient given the hospital’s history of violence.

The healthcare workers’ union 1199SEIU held meetings with HCA and worker town halls, and drafted a petition demanding on-site law enforcement, metal detectors, mandatory bag searches, floor patrols, panic buttons connected to law enforcement, immediate transfer of violent or manic patients to appropriate facilities, and increased staffing with specialized training.²¹